Here's to Us by Elin Hilderbrand

"It's not a house to us. It's a home. And it's not a home, it's a way of life. Our summertime happens here. This house is part of our past, it's our present, it'll be our future. It's who we are."
                     -memories of a home on Nantucket

I admit I selected this book because it was a bargain but I also thought I was familiar with the author. Either I confused her name with another writer OR this isn't her best work. I will rate Here's to Us a 2.5---I finished it but it is far from memorable.

The story centers on DeaconThorpe, a celebrity chef who, after the prologue, is deceased. He has left behind a beloved but heavily mortgaged Nantucket beach house and a wife and two exes to "fight" over it. Most of the story takes place over a 3-day period as the family gathers to memorialize Deacon and spread his ashes. There are "intermezzos," or flashbacks to give the reader insight into the love stories behind each of 3 marriages. The prologue involves Deacon as a boy enjoying a perfect day with his father at Nantucket while the epilogue, appropriately, describes his last moments in the same locale. The plot centers on the revealed secrets, jealousies and resentments between the women---Laurel, Belinda and Scarlet---and their children.

Unfortunately I didn't find any characters with whom I truly identified or cared about. After the last few books I have read, this one was pretty superficial. My husband would say it's "chick lit" but to this "chick" it left a lot to be desired.